, 1887-01-28
STRANGE FANCIES.
QUEER STORIES OF PEOPLE SANE
ON ALL POINTS BUT ONE.

80 go ta
Magic, relates III experience of New
to- which shows that any one has the
power to produce Authorizations at his
pleasure. This philosopher, after having
regarded for some time the image of the
sun in n looking glass, was much sur
priscd, on directing his eyes toward the
dark part of the room, to see "a specter
Of the SUI reproduced bit by bit, until
IL shonc with all the yividness and nll
the color OF the real object. The hal
lucinntion afterward r%eoccurred when
ever he was in the dark. The same
phenomenon takes place when "A person
looks hxedly at II window in IL strong
Light and then at a wall; II spectral win
dow, with its panes and bars, soon pre-
SCENTS itself.
Talina, the great French actor, said
thai when he entered upon the stage he
was able. by the power Of his will, To
bInish from his sight the dress of his
numerous and brilliant audience and to
substitute In the place Of these living per
sons SO many skeletons When his i'm
agination had thus filled the theatre with
these singular spectators the emotions
which he experienced gave such an i'm
pulse to his acting as to produce the most
startling effects.
| have SHOWN men to imagine that they
lltAA kbAfA VI iAlAN nllftA iANtAo hAo ~ -
stomachs, and the latter would swallow no
hard food for fear Of breaking the said
brittle organ. There is an authentic case
on record of IA man who thought himself "a
teapot, and always went about at home
and on the street with one arm held out
at right angles and the other ukimbo,
walked sideways, and made u kissing noise
like u teapot boiling. Nothing could CON
vince him to the contrary. For many
years it was the only symptom Of insanity
he showed, but eventually he died In an
asylum for the insane.
Speaking Of hallucinations, | have In
mind just now u lady, one OF the best
actresses in this country, who has such n
horror Of dirt that It has become almost a
mania with her. In washing her hands
she uses at least five bowls OF water, uses
IA towel but once, and that, when It leaves
The laundrcss, must be locked up lest any
human hand should touch 1t. Her tooth
brush Is always under lock and key.
Every morning 1t takes her over an hour
TO battle, using at least three tubs OF water.
She dimes in no restaurant where she has
not tho privilege OF examining the kitchen
and questioning the cook. Her one hobby
is water. | always call her an aquamaniac.
/ know n very charming gentleman, II
prominent business man, who not for
vanderbilt wealth. Woulu cross my
river or leave New YORK. nave osed
every endeaVor TO get MN 10 cross inc
ferry from New York to Brooklyn, and
only succeeded once-by %drugging him..
lie cannot tell why, but US soon us the
boat is on the point OF starting he has n
feeling ns II he wero about to die, a cold
PRECIPITATION breaks out all over him, his
knees shake, and n stranger looking ut
hiin would think ne was about 10 collapsf.
This has been gong on Tor ABOUT
ycirs. In everything else nc Is perfectly
sane at nome no Is eharmihg IN every
respect. lie mas consulted inc most elhi-
nent physicians oil New YORK nut 10 NO
avail.
Recently | read OF "A most Interesting
Journey inaue by l1cut. Buckingham ana
others oil the ouiteu states navy "hiic
III siberia they were walking ON the
banks OF the Issilrl river wheh ne oD-
served "a mcssmatc, VINO was "A captain ol
the general stan OF the RUSSIAN army up
proach Inc captain oil the boat suddenly,
and without any apparent reason, clapped
his hands before ms facc' Instantly the
steward vlapped ms Ihnus III tnc AiAlv
manner put on an angry look ana paea'd
on Inc ihcluch' was somcWha' CURIOUS,
rs II involved IL degree OF intimacy WIN
the lcward hardly, IN such a country, TO
DC expected Aiur ths they observed u
number OF queer performances oil the
steward, ana hnaliy comprehended the SIT
uatiou II seemed that he was niilctcd
with peculiar mental OF nervous disease
winch forced MN 10 inmate everything
suddenly presented to his senses. Ihus,
when the captain slapped the pnddleboN
suddenly in the presence oil the steward
the latter instantly gave 1t a similar
! tntlun. or IL any NOISE WAS made "Suuupnlk
he seemed compelled against ms VIII 10
initiate 1t instantly ana with remarkable
accuracy To annoy INN some OF the pas
seugers initiated pigs gruntlhs or called
out absurd names others clnpped thelr
hahds ana shouted jumped OF threw thelr
mats on the deck suddenly ana the poor
steward, suddenly startled would initiate
them all precisely and sometimes several
cohsecutlVely frequently ne would beg
people mol TO startIe nm, ana again grow
furiously angry, but even III the midst oil
his passion would hclplessly repeat some
ridiculous shout or motion directed at him
BY his pltless tormentors, Frequently he
would shut himself up in his pantry, which
wa without windows, and lock the door
but even there he could be heard answer
ing the shouts grunts or sounds ON the
p~ulkhead outside lie was a man OF ma
die nge, line physique, rather Intelligent
IN iaoial expression ana gave not the
slightest Nlsihle lndicatloho Oh MS dlsablhty.
could go on writing about such cases
until exhausted my readers patience
hut shall close by relating n lew Of the
Jumping Frenohmen, that have n commu.
nifty near Moosehead lake, Me. | nm in
dcbted 10 the late DIR. Beard for the pnr.